1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a short-wavelength semiconductor light emitting element used in the fields of optical communications, optical information processing, and the like, and a method for fabricating the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, with increased demands for short-wavelength semiconductor light emitting elements in various fields, studies focusing mainly on ZnSe and GaN as the materials for such elements have been vigorously conducted. As for ZnSe material, a short-wavelength semiconductor laser with an oscillation wavelength of about 500 nm has succeeded in oscillating consecutively at room temperature. Now, study and development for practical use of this material is under way. As for GaN material, a blue light emitting diode with high luminance has recently been realized. The reliability of this material as the light emitting diode is by no means inferior to that of other materials for semiconductor light emitting elements. GaN material is therefore expected to be applicable to a semiconductor laser.
However, the properties of GaN material are not clearly known; moreover, GaN material has a hexagonal-system crystalline structure. Therefore, it is uncertain whether GaN material can provide characteristics durable enough for practical use when it is used as an element having a structure similar to that used for conventional cubic-system materials.